The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-11-22
THANKSGIVING TURKEY.
The Secret of Roasting 1t in the Best
Manner.
From the American Agriculturist.

From the american AgricUlturist
French works on cooking tell us that poul-
try and game should never bewashed. This
may do for French markets and appetites,
but where poultry is sent to market un-
drawn the inside is sometimes sour and apt
to give an unpleasant taste to the stuffing
and the flesh as well. If the fowl has been
drawn as soon as killed, and the gall has
not been broken, it will not need washing;
but if there is the least suspicion of faint,
wash it well in cold water, to which a tea
spoonful of soda and two of salt have been
added.
There is an infinite variety Of recipes for
stuffing turkey. A plain dressing, which
is the basis Of all, is made with bread
crumbs mixed with butter, pepper, salt and
thyme or sweet narjoram. The bread should
be soaked in cold water and squeezed dry in
a towel The excellence of the seasoning
will depend upon the skill of the cook. Add
all seasonings q little at time. and taste to
see when you have it right. If you have
not served an oyster soup previously, an
oyster or celery stufing is most excellent.
Use as much of the oyster liquor as may be
necessary to moisten the bread diluting it
with half the quantity of water
small oysters to ten pound
turkey. In this case an oyster sauce must
be served with it. For this, bring to boil
the juice of half pint of oysters and one
half pint of milk, also boiling; thicken with
two teaspoonfuls of -four. wet with cold
water; add the oysters, give one boil and
serve. For celery stufiing. the celery must
be stewed and mixed with the bread crumbs,
which should have been moistened with hot
milk A sauce is made by heating a half
pint of milk, thickening it as above, and
adding celery that has been cut in half-inch
pieces and stewed until tender: season with
butter, pepper and salt, and the least trihe
of grated nutmeg. You may also change
your dressing by the addition of cold minced
veal, or sausage meat
Now, having decided upon the style in
which your turkey is to be dressed, and hav-
ing WASHED it preparatory to the process,
fill the body and craw as full as may be,
and sew the aperture with cotton Irvine
draw the legs closely to the body, and tie or
skewer them in place, or the bird will come
out of the oven in anything but a shapely
condition, with its limbs pointing to the
four points of the compass. Bend the wings
back under the body; place it i'll baking
pan. season it all over with salt and pepper,
and let it stand several hours before it goes
in the oven, that the seasoning in the dress
ing may permeate and flavor the meat
Pour a little water into the pam
and put it into a moderate oven
for the first hour, so that it may heat
through slowly. Basic frequently. and in
crease the heat after the first. A ten pound
bird should be baked from two and half to
three hours. Half an hour before it is done
dredge it with flour and haste every ten
minutes until the cooking is finished If it
is not very fat skewer thin slices of fat
larding pork over the breast before baking.
Serve brown sauce as WELL made from the
gravy in the pan, even if YOU have celery
or oyster sauce. Make the brown gravy by
adding a little hot water to the gravy in the
pan, from which you have SKINNED the fat.
Thicken it with -four, wet with cold water
and the stewed giblets chopped fine and put
a dash of lemon juice to the seasoning
Serve currant or cranberry jelly, or spiced
plums, with the turkey.